Nikola Tesla was born on July 9, 1856, in a small village in the Croatian province of Lika called Smiljan. You might not know who this man is, but he came up with the ideas we use today about electricity.
Tesla went to elementary school in Croatia and finished there. He went to the Polytechnic School in Graz and then the University of Prague to finish his education. Before immigrating to the United States in 1884, he worked as an electrical engineer in Germany, Hungary, and France. As soon as Tesla got to New York, he got a job with Thomas Edison. Tesla worked for Edison for a long time. In 1885, the two men stopped working together because they had different ideas about how to do things. There were two main things that made them different. Edison thought that DC (Direct Current) would be the power of the future. Tesla worked on AC (Alternating Current) power, which is what we use now. After Tesla left Edison's lab, the founder of the Westinghouse Electric Company, George Westinghouse, bought the patent rights to Tesla's alternating-current system.
Tesla's alternating current was better than Edison's direct current in a lot of ways. When Westinghouse used Tesla's Alternating current to light the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, the benefits were made clear. After this happened, people started to see how amazing this kind of electricity could be.
In 1887, Tesla opened up a lab in New York City. He did a lot of different kinds of electrical experiments, like looking into electrical resonance and studying a lot of different lighting systems. Tesla would show off his power in his lab so that people wouldn't worry about the safety of his power system. He would light a light bulb without any wires, letting the electricity flow through his body in a spectacular flash of light and sparks.
In 1891, he became an American citizen. His ability to make things was at its best. He worked on and made a lot of things, like the induction motor, new types of generators, and transformers. He also made a way for his AC current to be sent to other places. Tesla made a lot of the things that you use every day. The fluorescent light, which we use to save energy, was also one of his ideas, but not many people know about it. Tesla was interested in many things related to electricity. Tesla is best known for his way to send power without wires. Tesla's Coil. He thought that he would be able to send power to the user for free through the air. Amazing and really a new way of thinking. In 1900, he began building a wireless power transmission tower. Because he didn't have enough money, he had to give up on the project. Tesla soon used his genius to make other things, like turbines that make electricity. He continued to have trouble getting money, and many of his ideas were put on hold.
One of my favourite inventors is Nikola Tesla. His blood was charged with electricity. The man came up with a lot of things that we use every day, but he didn't get much credit for them. He was ahead of his time in many ways. We may think that Edison was a great inventor, and he was, but Edison and many others took Tesla's ideas and turned them into things we use today while taking the credit for themselves. We now know that this man was taken advantage of and didn't get the credit he deserved. Many Electrical Engineers still look at Tesla's notes to find ideas that can be used and built on today.
His Tesla Coil is what most people know about Tesla. This coil will send a large amount of power through the air, like a lightning bolt. Now that we're in the wireless age, is wireless power next?
"Before I draw a sketch, I work out the whole idea in my head. In my mind, I change the way the device is built, make improvements, and even use it. Even though I've never drawn a sketch, I can tell workers how big all the parts are and they will all fit together just as well as if I had made the drawings myself. It doesn't matter to me if I test my machine in my head or in my shop. This is how I have always come up with new ideas that work. There hasn't been a single one in thirty years. This is how I built my first electric motor, the vacuum wireless light, my turbine engine, and a lot of other things." Nikola Tesla
"Science is just a waste of time if its end goal isn't to make life better for everyone." Nikola Tesla
On January 7, 1943, Nikola Tesla died in New York. A lot of information is out there about Nikola Tesla. I have only scratched the surface of how smart this man is. Spend some time learning about him. You'll be shocked!
